Anxiety

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While anxiety is a common reaction to life’s stresses that can spur us to action, anxiety disorders take nervousness and fear to an excessive extreme. It’s the difference between experiencing butterflies in the stomach before giving a speech that subside after a deep breath and panicking to the point of being unable to speak. The good news is that wherever you fall on the anxiety spectrum, anxiety disorders are treatable.

The most common types of anxiety disorders include:

Generalized anxiety disorder

Although everyone worries about something at some point in their lives, those who are diagnosed with general anxiety disorder constantly worry and fret over family members or everyday job responsibilities, often to the point that their worry interferes with normal daily life..

Social anxiety disorder

Social anxiety disorder refers to the fear of being embarrassed or humiliated in public. It includes an exaggerated fear of being rejected or looked down upon, even when such feelings are unwarranted. Those diagnosed with social anxiety disorder often avoid social settings..

Separation anxiety disorder

We all miss a loved one who is absent, but separation anxiety disorder takes that common emotion to an extraordinary level. The anxiety is disproportionate to the situation and to the person’s age. Physical symptoms can include sleeplessness or nightmares about separation.

Panic disorder

Panic disorder is characterized by recurrent panic attacks. In addition to shaking, sweating and a racing heart, symptoms of a panic attack can include dizziness, nausea and chest pain. The symptoms can be severe enough to be mistaken for a heart attack.

Phobias

Phobias, or fears, come in an infinite variety of forms. Most people are familiar with such fears as aerophobia, the fear of flying, or arachnophobia, the fear of spiders. Despite knowing that there is no rational reason to be afraid, people can find it difficult to overcome their fear on their own. Fortunately, there are effective treatments.

Agoraphobia

Literally “fear of the marketplace,” agoraphobia is a fear of open spaces as well as crowded or enclosed spaces. The primary fear is one of being trapped or unable to escape a situation. At its extreme, some people with agoraphobia can become too fearful to leave their homes.

Of course it’s impossible never to experience fear or anxiety. And some fear can actually be a good and healthy thing. But when anxiety becomes unbearable, seek help in getting it under control. There are treatments and medications that help. With a proper diagnosis and treatment, you can improve your quality of life.